HAYS – The Dane G. Hansen Foundation has approved a grant of $250,000 in support of new technology for the two heart catheterization labs (cath labs) at HaysMed’s DeBakey Heart Institute. The primary objective of new equipment is to serve the cardiac health needs and improve cardiac patient outcomes of our residents and visitors to western Kansas. Clinical advantages of the new equipment include the ability to see more detail while minimizing risk to the patient through the use of higher resolution viewing equipment using less contrast. The newly outfitted labs also improve the safety and working conditions of our providers and patients through significant reductions in radiation exposure. More than 4,000 heart cath procedures have been completed by HaysMed’s team of interventional cardiologists in the last five years.

“HaysMed is proud to partner with the Dane G. Hansen Foundation in improving healthcare outcomes for the citizens of western Kansas. As a certified chest pain center, the DeBakey Heart Institute at HaysMed provides the people, the technology, and the facilities to allow folks to get quality cardiac care normally only available much further from home,” said HaysMed CEO Eddie Herrman. HaysMed remains the only health care facility in the region having achieved American College of Cardiology (ACC) Chest Pain Center Accreditation.

As with hospitals nationwide, HaysMed is faced with decreasing revenues in government and insurance reimbursement. Philanthropic support is critical. The Dane G. Hansen Foundation is committed to providing opportunities for the people of northwest Kansas to enjoy the highest possible quality of life through philanthropic support through a variety of areas, including healthcare. Over the past ten years, Dane G. Hansen Foundation Grants to the HaysMed Foundation have provided more than $1.25 million in support for projects benefitting the healthcare of families in western Kansas, including a $500,000 grant in 2016 towards the new CT scanner at HaysMed.

About the DeBakey Heart Institute at HaysMed

Hays Medical Center has a full service heart program developed under the guiding hand of the Father of Heart Surgery, Dr. Michael DeBakey. The program includes two full time catheterization labs, interventional cardiology, nuclear cardiology, open heart surgery and cardiac rehabilitation. The heart program at HaysMed is committed to including referring physicians in the decision making process and keeping them updated on patient status. Priority is given to returning patients promptly to their local community hospitals and health care providers.

About the HaysMed Foundation

The HaysMed Foundation is a qualified 501(c) (3) charitable organization whose mission is to support HaysMed, a private, not-for-profit hospital that provides the only tertiary level services in the region. The Foundation, in partnership with donors, seeks to meet both immediate and long-range health care needs of the people of western Kansas. An 18-member volunteer board guides the efforts of the Foundation. Donations can be sent to the HaysMed Foundation, 2220 Canterbury Drive, Hays, KS 67601 or by visiting www.haysmedfoundation.org/donate.